In Chapter 6, we describe the concept of braid equivalence from the topological point of view. This will lead us to a new concept braid homotopy that is discussed fully in the next chapter. As just mentioned, in Chapter 7, we shall discuss the difference between braid equivalence and braid homotopy. Also in this chapter, we define a homotopy braid invariant that turns out to be the so-called Milnor number. Chapter 8 is a quick review of knot theory, including Alexander's theorem. While, Chapters 9 is devoted to Markov's theorem, which allows the application of this theory to other fields. This was one of the motivations Artin had in mind when he began studying braid theory. In Chapter 10, we discuss the primary applications of braid theory to knot theory, including the introduction of the most important invariants of knot theory, the Alexander polynomial and the Jones polynomial. In Chapter 11, motivated by Dirac's string problem, the ordinary braid group is generalized to the braid groups of various surfaces. We discuss these groups from an intuitive and diagrammatic point of view. In the last short chapter 12, we present without proof one theorem, due to Gorin and Lin [GoL] , that is a surprising application of braid theory to the theory of algebraic equations.

Tutorial on the braid groups / Dale Rolfsen -- Simplicial objects and homotopy groups / Jie Wu -- Introduction to configuration spaces and their applications / Frederick R. Cohen -- Configuration spaces, braids, and robotics / Robert Ghrist -- Braids and magnetic fields / Mitchell A. Berger -- Braid group cryptography / David Garber

New Ways to Indulge Your Passion for French Braid Quilts. 8 all-new projects feature lots of spectacular new ways to French braid your quilts. New shapes and sizes: wallhangings, table runners, multi-sided table toppers, and Christmas tree skirts. New ways to use French braids: borders, variable-width and star-shapes, or with appliqué and variegated fabrics. Spectacular new color palettes with big, bold prints. Take your French braid quilts in dramatic new directions with this sequel to the bestselling French Braid Quilts. You'll love the new shapes and sizes, new techniques, and bold new colors. You'll also love what hasn't changed-the fast strip piecing and crystal-clear instructions that have made French braid quilts a favorite style for thousands of quilters.

This monograph uses braids to explore dynamics on surfaces, with an eye towards applications to mixing in fluids. The text uses the particular example of taffy pulling devices to represent pseudo-Anosov maps in practice. In addition, its final chapters also briefly discuss current applications in the emerging field of analyzing braids created from trajectory data. While written with beginning graduate students, advanced undergraduates, or practicing applied mathematicians in mind, the book is also suitable for pure mathematicians seeking real-world examples. Readers can benefit from some knowledge of homotopy and homology groups, but these concepts are briefly reviewed. Some familiarity with Matlab is also helpful for the computational examples.

This is the award-winning monograph of the Sunyer i Balaguer Prize 1999. The book presents recently discovered connections between Artin’s braid groups and left self-distributive systems, which are sets equipped with a binary operation satisfying the identity x(yz) = (xy)(xz). Although not a comprehensive course, the exposition is self-contained, and many basic results are established. In particular, the first chapters include a thorough algebraic study of Artin’s braid groups.

Since the discovery that Artin's braid groups enjoy a left-invariant linear ordering, several different approaches have been used to understand this phenomenon. This text provides an account of those approaches, involving varied objects & domains as combinatorial group theory, self-distributive algebra & finite combinatorics.

In this well-written presentation, motivated by numerous examples and problems, the authors introduce the basic theory of braid groups, highlighting several definitions that show their equivalence; this is followed by a treatment of the relationship between braids, knots and links. Important results then treat the linearity and orderability of the subject. Relevant additional material is included in five large appendices. Braid Groups will serve graduate students and a number of mathematicians coming from diverse disciplines.

Braid theory and knot theory are related via two famous results due to Alexander and Markov. Alexander's theorem states that any knot or link can be put into braid form. Markov's theorem gives necessary and sufficient conditions to conclude that two braids represent the same knot or link. Thus, one can use braid theory to study knot theory and vice versa. In this book, the author generalizes braid theory to dimension four. He develops the theory of surface braids and applies it tostudy surface links. In particular, the generalized Alexander and Markov theorems in dimension four are given. This book is the first to contain a complete proof of the generalized Markov theorem. Surface links are studied via the motion picture method, and some important techniques of this method arestudied. For surface braids, various methods to describe them are introduced and developed: the motion picture method, the chart description, the braid monodromy, and the braid system. These tools are fundamental to understanding and computing invariants of surface braids and surface links. Included is a table of knotted surfaces with a computation of Alexander polynomials. Braid techniques are extended to represent link homotopy classes. The book is geared toward a wide audience, from graduatestudents to specialists. It would make a suitable text for a graduate course and a valuable resource for researchers.

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